General Enrollment Period

Período de Inscripción General

In 9 languages

LanguageTerm
EnglishGeneral Enrollment Period
Spanish (Español) Período de Inscripción General
Chinese (中文) 普通注册期
Korean (한국어) 일반 등록 기간
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) Thời gian đăng ký chung
Filipino (Tagalog) General Enrollment Period
Portuguese (Português) Período de Inscrição Geral
Thai (ภาษาไทย) ช่วงเวลาลงทะเบียนทั่วไป
Japanese (日本語) 一般加入期間

What it means

The General Enrollment Period (GEP) runs from January 1 through March 31 each year and allows you to sign up for Medicare Part A or Part B if you missed your Initial Enrollment Period and do not qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Coverage typically begins July 1 of the same year. If you delayed enrollment without having creditable employer coverage, you may face a permanent late-enrollment penalty added to your monthly premium for each full 12-month period you were eligible but did not enroll. Individuals who had active employer coverage and lost it can usually enroll penalty-free within eight months using a Special Enrollment Period instead.

How to say it

Sentences a patient might use with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or insurer:

Medicare general enrollment window

ventana de inscripción general de Medicare

January to March Medicare sign-up period

período de inscripción de Medicare de enero a marzo

GEP—general enrollment period

PIG—período de inscripción general

Where you'll see it

Medicare.gov enrollment noticeSocial Security Administration letterMedicare and You handbookMedicare plan comparison tool

Related terms

Sources

US Glossary Español A–Z US Codes United States

Last reviewed: September 2026